Hieronymus Bosch- The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things

Christian eschatology Christian eschatology, a major branch of study within Christian theology, deals with "last things". Such eschatology – the word derives from two Greek roots meaning "last" () and "study" (-) – involves the study of "end things", whether ...

, the Four Last Things or four last things of man ( la , quattuor novissima) are

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

, Judgment,

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the bel ...

, and Hell, the four last stages of the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

in life and the afterlife. They are often commended as a collective topic for pious meditation; Saint

Philip Neri Philip Romolo Neri ( ; it, italics=no, Filippo Romolo Neri, ; 22 July 151526 May 1595), known as the "Second Apostle of Rome", after Saint Peter, was an Italian priest noted for founding a society of secular clergy called the Congregation of ...

wrote, "Beginners in religion ought to exercise themselves principally in meditation on the Four Last Things." Traditionally, the

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. E ...

s preached on the four Sundays of

Advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''. In ...

were on the Four Last Things. The 1909 ''

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

'' states "The eschatological summary which speaks of the 'four last things' (death, judgment, heaven, and hell) is popular rather than scientific. For systematic treatment it is best to distinguish between (A) individual and (B) universal and cosmic eschatology, including under (A): (1) death; (2) the particular judgment; (3) heaven, or eternal happiness; (4) purgatory, or the intermediate state; (5) hell, or eternal punishment; and under (B): (6) the approach of the end of the world; (7) the resurrection of the body; (8) the general judgment; and (9) the final consummation of all things.".

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

wrote in 1984 that the "judgment" component encompasses both

particular judgment Particular judgment, according to Christian eschatology, is the divine judgment that a departed person undergoes immediately after death, in contradistinction to the general judgment (or Last Judgment) of all people at the end of the world. ...

and

general judgment General judgment is the Christian theological concept of a judgment of the dead. When the individual dies, general judgment holds that the person's final dispensation will await the general judgment of the dead at the end of the world, rather than ...

Books

Numerous theologians and Christian apologists have written on the Four Last Things; published accounts include:

16th century and earlier

* (15th century) attributed to and to

Denis le Chartreux Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), baron in the Kingdom of Hungary * Denis the Carthusian (1402–14 ...

; translated into French by

Jean Miélot Jean Miélot, also Jehan, (born Gueschard, Picardy, died 1472) was an author, translator, manuscript illuminator, scribe and priest, who served as secretary to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy from 1449 to Philip's death in 1467, and then to his ...

and thence into English as by

Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers (c. 144025 June 1483), was an English nobleman, courtier, bibliophile and writer. He was the brother of Queen Elizabeth Woodville who married King Edward IV. He was one of the leading members of the Wood ...

in 1479Cox, Michael, editor, ''The Concise Oxford Chronology of English Literature'', Oxford University Press, 2004, * ''The Four Last Things'' (1522) by

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

; unfinished (published posthumously).

17th century

* ''The Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Hell, and Heaven'' (1631) by

Robert Bolton Robert Bolton (1572 – 16 December 1631) was an English clergyman and academic, noted as a preacher. Life He was born on Whit Sunday in Blackburn, Lancashire, the sixth son of Adam Bolton of Backhouse. He attended what is now Queen Elizabet ...

; published posthumously in 1639 * ''

The four last things In Christian eschatology, the Four Last Things or four last things of man ( la , quattuor novissima) are Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell, the four last stages of the soul in life and the afterlife. They are often commended as a collective topic ...

: death, judgment, hell, heaven'' by

Martin of Cochem Martin of Cochem (born at Cochem on the Moselle (river), Mosel, 13 December 1630 or 1634; died in the convent at Waghäusel, 10 September 1712) was a German Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, Capuchin theologian, preacher, and ascetic writer. Life H ...

* ''Four Last Things'' (1649) by William Sheppard, whose preface supported the

Rump Parliament The Rump Parliament was the English Parliament after Colonel Thomas Pride commanded soldiers to purge the Long Parliament, on 6 December 1648, of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason. "Rump" ...

against the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

s * ("A Sensuous Representation of the Four Last Things") (1675) by Angelus Silesius * ''Four Last Things–Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell'' (1691) by William Bates

18th century

* ("Devout musings on the four last things") (1714) by John Morgan * ''Thoughts upon the Four Last Things'' (1734) by Joseph Trapp * ''Four discourses on the four last things'' (1751) by Thomas Greene

20th century

* ''The Four Last Things'' (1960) by Harry Williams * (1947) by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange. Published in English as ''Life Everlasting: A Theological Treatise on the Four Last Things: Death, Judgement, Heaven, Hell'' * ''The Last Things: Concerning Death, Purification After Death, Resurrection, Judgment, and Eternity'' (1965) by Romano Guardini

The four last things

Death

explains that "there are three principal reasons why all sensible people fear

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

so much: First, because the love of life, the dread of death is inherent in human nature. Secondly, because every rational being is well aware that death is bitter, and the separation of

and body cannot take place without inexpressible suffering. Thirdly, because no one knows whither he will go after death, or how he will stand in the

Day of Judgment The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

." Or as

Alphonsus Liguori Alphonsus Liguori, CSsR (27 September 1696 – 1 August 1787), sometimes called Alphonsus Maria de Liguori or Saint Alphonsus Liguori, was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philo ...

wrote in his meditations: "We must die: how awful is the decree! We must die. The sentence is passed: ''It is appointed for all men once to die.'' Heb. 9:27"

The Last Judgment

Of the final judgment,

writes that, "the last day is called in Scripture a day of wrath and misery; and such it will be for all those unhappy beings who shall have died in

mortal sin A mortal sin ( la, peccatum mortale), in Catholic theology, is a gravely sinful act which can lead to Hell in Christianity#Roman_Catholicism, damnation if a person does not repent of the sin before death. A sin is considered to be "mortal" wh ...

; for on that day their most secret crimes will be made manifest to the whole world, and themselves separated from the company of the

saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...

, and condemned to the eternal prison of hell, where they will suffer all the agonies of ever dying yet always remaining alive."

Heaven

heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the bel ...

, Richard Challoner in his famous work '' Think Well On't'' writes, " Consider, that if God's justice is so terrible in regard to his enemies, how much more will his mercy, his goodness, his bounty declare itself in favour of his friends! Mercy and goodness are his favourite attributes, in which he most delights: ''his tender mercies'' says the royal prophet, Ps. 144. ''are over all his works.''

Hell

Luis de la Puente writes concerning ''The nature of hell'': "Hell is a perpetual prison, full of fire and of innumerable and very terrible torments, to chastise perpetually such as die in

. Or, again, hell is an eternal state, wherein sinners, for the punishment of their sins, want all that good which they may desire for their content, and endure all kinds of evils which they may fear for their torment. So that in hell is joined together the privation of all that good which men enjoy in this life and angels in the other, and the presence of all those evils which afflict men in this life and the devils in the other."

Artworks

The Four Last Things are a common theme of artistic and literary works as well as theological works. }), , Sculpture , , Anton Neu, based on ideas from the

Asam brothers The Asam brothers ( Cosmas Damian Asam and Egid Quirin Asam) were sculptors, workers in stucco, painters, and architects, who worked mostly together and in southern Germany. They are among the most important representatives of the German late ...

, , 1751 , , Stucco cartouches in the vestibule of Weltenburg Abbey chapel , , , - , ''The Four Last Things'' , , Sculpture , , Josef Stammel , , c.1760 , , In Admont Abbey , , , - , ''Novissima'' (Portuguese: ) , , Paintings , , José Gervásio de Sousa Lobo , , 1792–3 , , Originally made for the sacristy of the in Ouro Preto; currently in the in the same city. , , , - , '' Die vier letzten Dinge'' , ,

Oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

, , Joseph Leopold Eybler , , 1810 , , , , , - , ''Die letzten Dinge'' , , Oratorio , ,

Louis Spohr Louis Spohr (, 5 April 178422 October 1859), baptized Ludewig Spohr, later often in the modern German form of the name Ludwig, was a German composer, violinist and conducting, conductor. Highly regarded during his lifetime, Spohr composed ten Sy ...

, , 1826 , - , ''Cantata of the Last Things of Man'' , , Cantata , , Ladislav Vycpálek , , 1920–22 , , Czech title ''Kantáta o posledních věcech člověka'' , , , - , ''The Four Last Things'' , , Poetry collection , , Madeleva Wolff , , 1959 , , Poems with theological themes , , , - , ''No. 18'' (unfinished) , , Film , , Harry Everett Smith , , 1990s , , Intended as his masterwork , , , - , "Die vier letzten Dinge (Quasi una Sinfonia da Requiem)" , ,

Symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning co ...

, , , , 1996–97 , , For organ and orchestra , ,

References

External links

* {{Authority control Christianity and death Christian eschatology